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Public Response (public + response)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Business, Economics, Finance and Accounting	40%

Selected Abstracts

Public Responses to Agricultural Disasters: Rethinking the Role of Government

CANADIAN JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS, Issue 4 2007
Barry K. Goodwin
We provide a broad overview of the role and history of federal disaster relief in U.S. agriculture. We discuss various economic arguments that may be used as justification for such disaster relief and subsidized insurance programs. In general, we find no persuasive argument that market failure justifies subsidized risk management activities by the government. Important exceptions exist in the case of catastrophic damages to public infrastructure, invasive and communicable disease threats, and the hazards posed by accidental or deliberate contamination of food supplies in that the presence of significant transactions costs may inhibit private market solutions. We also consider a panel VAR analysis of the dynamic interrelationships among market returns and farm program payments conveyed under three different types of programs,disaster assistance, crop insurance, and all other direct payments. An important finding is that disaster and insurance payments appear to imply higher subsequent levels of market income risk in agriculture. This finding is consistent with arguments that subsidized disaster assistance and insurance may lead to greater risk in agriculture. Nous présentons un large aperçu du rôle et de l'historique du programme fédéral d'assistance en cas de catastrophe agricole aux États-Unis. Nous analysons différents arguments économiques qui peuvent justifier ces programmes d'aide et d'assurance subventionnés. En général, nous ne trouvons aucun argument convaincant comme quoi une défaillance de marché justifie des activités de gestion du risque subventionnées par le gouvernement. Cependant, des exceptions importantes existent pour les cas de dommages catastrophiques à des infrastructures publiques; de menaces de maladies contagieuses et invasives; et de dangers associés à la contamination accidentelle ou délibérée de la chaîne alimentaire, auquel cas les coûts de transaction importants pourraient inhiber les solutions du marché privé. Nous considérons également une analyse panel VAR des relations entre les rendements de marché et les paiements versés en vertu de trois types de programme: assistance en cas de catastrophe, assurance récolte et tout autre type de paiement direct. Nous en arrivons à la conclusion importante que les paiements d'assurance et d'aide aux sinistrés semblent mener à des niveaux de risque relatif au revenu marchand plus élevés dans le secteur de l'agriculture. Ceci concorde avec les arguments voulant que les programmes subventionnés d'assurance et d'assistance en cas de catastrophe mènent à une augmentation des risques dans le secteur de l'agriculture. [source]

PUBLIC PREFERENCES FOR REHABILITATION VERSUS INCARCERATION OF JUVENILE OFFENDERS: EVIDENCE FROM A CONTINGENT VALUATION SURVEY,

CRIMINOLOGY AND PUBLIC POLICY, Issue 4 2006
DANIEL S. NAGIN
Research Summary: Accurately gauging the public's support for alternative responses to juvenile offending is important, because policy makers often justify expenditures for punitive juvenile justice reforms on the basis of popular demand for tougher policies. In this study, we assess public support for both punitively and nonpunitively oriented juvenile justice policies by measuring respondents' willingness to pay for various policy proposals. We employ a methodology known as "contingent valuation" (CV) that permits the comparison of respondents' willingness to pay (WTP) for competing policy alternatives. Specifically, we compare CV-based estimates for the public's WTP for two distinctively different responses to serious juvenile crime: incarceration and rehabilitation. An additional focus of our analysis is an examination of the public's WTP for an early childhood prevention program. The analysis indicates that the public is at least as willing to pay for rehabilitation as punishment for juvenile offenders and that WTP for early childhood prevention is also substantial. Implications and future research directions are outlined. Policy Implications: The findings suggest that lawmakers should more actively consider policies grounded in rehabilitation, and, perhaps, be slower to advocate for punitive reforms in response to public concern over high-profile juvenile crimes. Additionally, our willingness to pay findings offer encouragement to lawmakers who are uncomfortable with the recent trend toward punitive juvenile justice policies and would like to initiate more moderate reforms. Such lawmakers may be reassured that the public response to such initiatives will not be hostile. Just as importantly, reforms that emphasize leniency and rehabilitation can be justified economically as welfare-enhancing expenditures of public funds. The evidence that the public values rehabilitation more than increased incarceration should be important information to cost-conscious legislators considering how to allocate public funds. Cost-conscious legislatures may become disenchanted with punitive juvenile justice policies on economic grounds and pursue policies that place greater emphasis on rehabilitation. They may be reassured, on the basis of our findings, that the public will support this move. [source]

Attributions of Responsibility for Rape: Differences Across Familiarity of Situation, Gender, and Acceptance of Rape Myths,

JOURNAL OF APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 7 2008
Peter A. Newcombe
In 2004 in Australia, controversy over the alleged involvement of elite footballers in incidents of sexual assault highlighted a tendency to denigrate the victims and excuse the perpetrators. To investigate whether rape myths were prevalent enough to explain this public response, 102 university students were surveyed for their beliefs and determinations of blame in rape situations. Although there was a gender difference in the rates of rape myth acceptance, with males more likely to accept these beliefs, these were not evident in decisions about victim blame or perpetrator blame. However, males and high rape myth acceptors were significantly more likely to minimize the seriousness of the rape situation. These effects increased with familiarity depicted in the situation. [source]

GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE AND PUBLIC PERCEPTION: THE CHALLENGE OF TRANSLATION,

JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN WATER RESOURCES ASSOCIATION, Issue 2 2000
Susan Seacrest
ABSTRACT: Global climate change is examined from the perspective of its relevancy and urgency as a public policy issue. Interpreting from literature specific to investigations into public awareness and concern, climate change is seen as a legitimate though less than urgent issue. The literature reveals that the general public holds surprising misconceptions about the processes contributing to climate change, including failure to grasp the fundamental connection to CO2. General ambivalence is also suggested from the results of two surveys conducted by The Groundwater Foundation. They first asked participants in a recent Groundwater Guardian Conference to rate levels of discussion and concern for water resources implications in the participants' communities. A second survey polled national water resource organizations about the extent climate change has been a focus of their educational, investigative, or advocacy efforts. The paper concludes by describing basic barriers to stimulating public response to climate change, which education about the issue should address, and by offering a model to educate and involve citizens based on the Groundwater Guardian program developed by the The Groundwater Foundation. [source]

What Determines Australia's Response to Emergencies and Natural Disasters?

THE AUSTRALIAN ECONOMIC REVIEW, Issue 1 2007
Simon Feeny
This article examines the determinants of Australia's response to emergencies and natural disasters. It examines the response from the Australian public by examining contributions made to the appeals of the country's largest Non-Governmental Organisation: World Vision of Australia. It also examines the response of the Australian Government. The data include 43 emergencies and natural disasters since 1998. Results suggest that the responses from both the public and government are positively associated with the number of people affected, media coverage, and the level of political and civil freedom in the country where the event occurred. The type and location of the emergency or disaster are important for the public's response. Differences between public and government donations exist: support from the Australian Government is positively associated with smaller countries and there is some evidence that the public donates more to events occurring in larger and poorer countries. [source]